Notes from the City of Brantford Committee of the Whole, Planning and Administration meeting, which was held on Tuesday, September 16, 2025.
Sister City Relationship with Racine, Wisconsin
Council members unanimously endorsed Mayor Kevin Davis’ resolution to establish a sister city relationship with the City of Racine, Wisconsin.
Davis explained that while he was attending The Future of Fresh Water conference in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, back in May, he took the opportunity to travel a half hour south to visit SC Johnson’s global headquarters in Racine.
“I thought that was important, given that about two years ago, there was a risk of SC Johnson perhaps leaving our city,” he said.
Davis went on to say that the sister city partnership will not only promote international goodwill, cultural understanding, and collaborative exchange, but that it will also help re-strengthen Brantford’s relationship with SC Johnson.
“This is intended to build connections for trade, tourism, and investment, and we hope it’ll lead to new economic growth, new contracts, and that it will increase local business opportunities,” he said. “Strengthening our relationship with Racine, Wisconsin, will, in part, strengthen our relationship with SC Johnson.”
Davis added that the City of Racine Council has already passed a similar resolution and that city officials from both communities will develop a mutual Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to guide future cooperation and determine the scope of joint programs and exchanges.
During the meeting, Councillor Gino Caputo said he was supportive of the relationship.
“I think it’d be fantastic to form a relationship and have that working in both our favours,” he said.
Councillor Dan McCreary also added that it may be worthwhile reconnecting with the other cities Brantford has established sister relationships with, including Ostrów Wielkopolski in Poland, and Kamianets-Podilskyi, in Ukraine, as it never hurts to have friends.
The resolution was later unanimously supported.
Animal Control Pigeons
Ward 1 Councillor Michael Sullivan introduced a resolution asking staff to prepare a report outlining options to amend the City’s animal control by-law to better regulate or prohibit keeping pigeons in Brantford.
Sullivan’s resolution notes that the by-law currently allows people to keep pigeons if they are a registered member in good standing of the Brant County Pigeon Club, Poultry and Pet Stock Association Inc., the Brantford Racing Pigeon Club, or the Brantford Invitational Racing Pigeon Club, and if the pigeons are being raised for exhibition at a bona fide agricultural exposition or for other competition.
The councillor explained that in recent months, a number of complaints have come forward from Ward 1 residents who have been dealing with negative impacts from neighbouring pigeon coops.
“This particular part of the code has not been changed in over a decade, and obviously we all know that Brantford has massively changed in that time, so we need more guidance,” he said. “We have neighbours that are now on top of each other because of intensification and I’ve had neighbours complaining.”
Sullivan said there have been reports of pigeon droppings landing on open barbeques, on freshly washed cars and in pools.
“It’s really negatively impacting the area,” he continued. “I think it’s very important that we take a look at this and see where we can make some necessary changes, not necessarily eliminate them, but find spots where they make sense to have them, because it doesn’t make sense in an intensified area.”
Councillor John Sless said that Ward 2 residents have also had various issues with pigeons, though much of it appears to be in regards to HVAC systems.
The resolution was later carried on a vote of 9 to 2 with Councillors Mandy Samwell and Brian Van Tilborg voting in opposition.
Highway 403 Sign Upgrades
Ward 3 Councillor Dan McCreary introduced a resolution requesting City staff consult with Brantford Police Service, the Ontario Provincial Police and the Ministry of Transportation to review the existing emergency detour route signage, and explore alternative strategies to improve traffic flow when necessary.
His resolution states that while the 403 has been beneficial to the growth and development of the city, its businesses and its residents, when the highway is closed, it often leads to congestion and chaos on municipal streets.
“There’s been many examples over the last number of years of highway closures due to accidents, and due to drivers not knowing the heights of their vehicles and thereby impacting bridges,” he said. “…By law, they’re supposed to detour to Powerline Road, but they do not; they follow their GPS and come along Fairview Drive, annoying the hundreds of residents there with their presence. The resolution before us today would ask our staff to embark on a course of action to try and mitigate that type of occurrence, perhaps by making EDR signage more clear.”
The resolution was then unanimously carried, and if it’s ratified during the September 23 Council meeting, staff will start working on the report and bring it forward in Q4.
Right-In Access from Wayne Gretzky Parkway to 195 Henry Street
Councillor Gino Caputo asked that his fellow Council members consider, and approve, a right-in only driveway access from Wayne Gretzky Parkway into the 195 Henry St. plaza.
“The plaza supports a diverse range of tenants, including federal, provincial, and private entities, many of which provide essential services and support to the Brantford and Brant County communities, including vulnerable populations such as the elderly, persons with disabilities, and individuals from underprivileged backgrounds,” he said.
Caputo added that a professional traffic consultant company has already completed a detailed traffic study in the area, and determined that a right-in only access would not adversely affect traffic flow on Wayne Gretzky Parkway (a controlled access roadway). He also said Vicano Developments Limited, who owns the property in question, is willing to pay for the work.
“With modern traffic engineering, we should be able to accommodate a safe right-in turn lane into the plaza and with proper design, there should be no conflict,” he said.
Nicole Wilmot, Chief Planner and Senior Director of Planning, said that City staff has already had discussions with Vicano and has told them that putting in an entrance would be poor planning.
“While we recognize that there may be concerns from the tenants within this plaza, this is a controlled access roadway, meaning that this is essentially the city’s largest people and traffic mover within the city,” she said. “The purpose and planned function of a controlled access highway is to limit access points along that corridor so that we can effectively move traffic today, but so we can effectively plan for the traffic that we anticipate in the future.”
Wilmot added that besides the fact that the plaza is too close to the intersection for a right-in, it would also make it harder to widen the road down the line and it would also affect the multi-use path that runs along the corridor.
“From a staff perspective, it’s poor planning to allow for a right-in at this access point, and we’re not in support [of this resolution],” she said.
Wilmot also told Councillors that even if they approved the access point, the MTO could still refuse to release a permit and no access point would be installed.
As conversations continued, Councillor Sullivan eventually moved that the topic be referred to the next Council cycle so that staff could come back with a proper report on the item.
The referral carried on a vote of 7-4, noting that Councillors Rose Sicoli, Caputo, Samwell and Van Tilborg, were in opposition.
Mayor Davis to attend Germany food and drink trade fair
In the coming weeks Mayor Davis and Joe Muto, Brantford’s Economic Development and Tourism Director, will head to the ANUGA Food and Beverage Trade Fair in Cologne, Germany.
The trip was brought up during a discussion around the Working Group on Trade and Procurement’s September report.
The ANUGA Food and Beverage Trade Fair, which runs from October 4 to October 8, only takes place once every two years and is considered to be one of the biggest global food and beverage conferences in the world.
Muto told Councillor McCreary that attending the event is part of a 2025 Trade Mission which has largely been made possible through a CanExport grant from the federal government.
Davis also added the trade trip was recommended to the City by Invest Ontario and the federal government, as well as other municipalities that have a similar ratio of food and beverage manufacturers (25 to 30 per cent).
“Brampton and Pickering have been the last two times and all the indication we got from those two cities is that it’s an excellent conference to attend,” he said. “They were able to pin a number of prospects, potential industries and businesses moving into their communities.”
Davis went on to say that some of Brantford’s largest food manufacturers, such as Ferrero Rocher and Grissin Bonn, have European roots.
“They’re attending the conference as well, so we’re working with them to expand and utilize the contacts that they have in Europe,” he said.
The Mayor also added that he and Muto will also be visiting several head offices while on the trip to further cement the relationship and determine what the City can do to attract supplies to the local area.
“If you look at our success in the past, that’s how we’ve done it time and time again.”
Council will receive more information about the trip and what the two City officials plan to achieve at a later date.
Kimberly De Jong’s reporting is funded by the Canadian government through its Local Journalism Initiative.The funding allows her to report rural and agricultural stories from Blandford-Blenheim and Brant County. Reach her at kimberly.dejong@brantbeacon.ca.
